hibs

Hibs’ new Head Coach Neil LennonĀ is happy with the quality of player he has at his disposal as he starts his preparation for the forthcoming season.

The players returned for pre-season training Ā last Thursday and Lennon insisted that he has been pleased with the aptitude and attitude of theĀ group and he is looking forward to seeing them in action ahead of the European campaign which begins in just over a fortnight.

The Northern Irishman Ā also revealed that there is an interest in Grant Holt and Scott McDonald as he looks to add experience up front and highlighted other positions that he may seek to strengthen.

Speaking to Hibs TV, he said: ā€œBoth of those players, thereā€™s an interest there from Hibernian. I think theyā€™ve got good qualities and they bring experience ā€“ we lack that a little bit in certain parts of the team.It would be fair to say that there is an interest there and there may be players going out as well, either on loan or permanently but that is something we have discussed in the last week or so.

“With Conrad (Logan) leaving it leavesĀ a goalkeeping spot that we’d like to pursue and maybe another defender. Midfield looks strong and striker is an important position that we’d like to look at but it’s hard for me to put a specific number on it. If players come up that might catch your eye then that’s something we might pursue later on.

ā€œIā€™m delighted with not only the attitude, but the quality. Iā€™ve been really surprised with the game intelligence, thereā€™s a lot of really good footballers here and the focus has been very, very good.

ā€œItā€™s early days, we havenā€™t kicked a ball yet, but what I have seen so far has really pleased me.

“The players have been doing a bit of core work in the gym but ideally we want to get them out on the grass as quickly as possible and try to get them up to speed in terms of football fitness but we wont gauge that until we get into the pre-season games.

“Judging by the condition of the players coming back they are in very good nick so fitness hasn’t been a major problem. Obviously we are working on fitness in terms of running with the balls and high intensity short sided games which they seem to be enjoying.

 

 

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John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.